This Fish Crow in flight over Egmont Key In Florida image isn't the best, I see many flaws in it, but on my old photo gallery this photo had by far the most views in the entire gallery.
There are big differences in the ways I photograph Greater Yellowlegs here in Utah than there were when I photographed them in Florida.
When I look at this photo of the juvenile Sanderling I see a bird that was so relaxed that it fell asleep while I photographed it because it was comfortable with my presence and I felt honored that it was.
This Great Blue Heron wandered past me one December morning at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach on a gray, windy day and because it was close I simply had to take a photo of the large wading bird.
I knew when I photographed this Snowy Egret in a shallow lagoon at Fort De Soto County Park that the dark reflections of the mangroves and mangrove roots on the water would produce a high contrast image.
Black Skimmers forage by skimming their bills in the waves just off shore and snap up fish when their sensitive bills locate them.
When I was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the 12th of April I spotted a Snowy Plover way out on the flats and that thrilled me because it was only my second sighting since my move to Utah back in 2009.
What is really fascinating to me is that within two days of fledging Ruddy Turnstone chicks embark on their first migration to their wintering grounds.
In 2009 I photographed this foraging Marbled Godwit and friends on exposed mudflats of a Fort De Soto County Park lagoon.
I expect to see Greater Yellowlegs soon because they are one of the first shorebirds to migrate through Utah on their way to their breeding grounds.
Whenever I view this photo of a lone Black Skimmer in flight on a foggy Gulf shore I feel a wave of joy and peaceful feelings wash over me.
On a hazy, windy day in May of 2008 I was able to sand crawl on my belly close enough to some Black Skimmers to watch and photograph them courting.
I was able to lock on to the Herring Gull in flight with a sea urchin in its bill when it was close enough to me to fill the frame, it was almost too close at that point.
It was wonderful to be close to the juvenile Brown Pelican and to be able to take portraits of it plus I also enjoyed being able to see all the fine details of its plumage, the texture of its bill and look into its dark eyes.
I've always loved this image of a Forster's Tern in flight because the pose is wonderful and the tern looks elegant against the gray of a distant storm cloud.
When I lived in Florida there were times that I would see Wood Storks at Fort De Soto and once in a while I would get lucky and find them in flight.
I did see and photograph this adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron standing on a grassy sand dune overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in beautiful, soft light.
One August morning in 2008 when I was at Fort De Soto to photograph birds I couldn't resist taking a few images of storm clouds hanging over the Gulf of Mexico.
I know this isn't a complete Franklin's Gull and Laughing Gull comparison but I'm not a scientist, just a bird photographer and bird lover.
When I photographed this trio of Great Yellowlegs in Florida I didn't have to worry about how far away they were, in fact at times they moved too close to me
My own technique for photographing this Black Skimmer skimming the Gulf and other skimmers that day was to sit down in the water right where the waves crested and moved on shore.
This alert Spotted Sandpiper was photographed at Fort De Soto County Park in January of 2009 as it walked down some rip rap towards the water.
This image of a solitary Snowy Egret in low light is simple but I find the simplicity of it appealing.
I can recall vividly the morning I photographed this Roseate Spoonbill in a lagoon with a young mangrove by its legs at Fort De Soto County Park.
I am not sure why this particular Ghost Crab was out of its burrow during the day but I was happy that I had the opportunity to photograph it.
I haven't seen Black Skimmers in over six years now but in my mind I can still hear them calling when I look at my images of a group of them in flight.
Among the bait fish skirmishes one solitary Ring-billed Gull stood out to me and as it flew after the Reddish Egret and Laughing Gulls I kept my lens trained on it.
Seven years ago I could be found most often walking along the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in search of birds to photograph.
About half the world's shorebird populations are in decline and with climate change and rising sea levels habitat loss is happening at a faster rate than ever before.
The past few times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I have seen Marbled Godwits flying over and I know that their migration to their wintering grounds has begun.